Project Management And Change Management Procedure For Cleveland Callback Project

Part A – Change Management General Overview

Change management includes processes that are accommodated within organisations for bring about a new process (Gerdsri, Assakul & Vatananan, 2008). The scope of the current project evaluation includes the Cleveland Callback Project, where new processes would be installed for the purpose of preventing fires across homes in UK. There have been a series of house fires across the North East of England in April 2013, which was investigated by the Fire Investigation Officers (FIOs) and the Fire Prevention Officers (FPOs) on behalf of Cleveland Fire & Rescue Service. The examination of potential causes of fire revealed that Zoro Ltd, who was responsible for renovation of the houses in the area had replaced the electrical systems that earlier prevented fire. With failing of the domestic fire unit, technical examination was carried out and it revealed a design based flaw resulting in failure of every unit. In order to reinstate fire safety procedures within these homes, there was a need to identify houses which had been refurbished by Zoro Ltd, contact them through Call Centers and then organize visits from local FPOs to assess potential threats in fire or faulty units. There were several consultants who were called to provide their assistance on this project such that it could be carried out in an effective manner. The consultants work was not identified through an appropriate project management plan which led to various reasons for the project getting delayed and facing increased costs. There was a change in management procedure needed at the initiation of the project, which could allow the project to meet its end objectives (Anderson & Anderson, 2010). A change management includes processes, tools and techniques that are required for management of people change such that business outcome can be achieved. Hence, the current state of project evaluation would include identifying all possible change management procedures to be undertaken and designing subsequent project management for the new processes to attain to minimum risks through meeting of budget and timeline scale (Carnall, 2018).            

The Callback Project required various milestones to be attended. The ambitious project aimed at fire controlling and prevention through extensive allocation of resources and duties to external consultants such as IT consultant and Call center executives and so on. The project at the initiation required certain changes to be accommodated (Lewis, 2012).

The ambitious project of the Call Centre for fire prevention was well planned. They aimed at overcoming challenges from the faulty lines and electrical automatic switches that might lead to fire. The fire department had planned and outsourced the entire work to external consultants however there was no appropriate change management model that was deployed, it was rather an unplanned change management procedure (O’Dea, 2014). The internal stakeholders for the project decided upon change management procedure by means of outsourcing of the project entirely. Such a huge project requires appropriate planning and development of a change management plan with steps appropriately laid down. However, the Project Director of the FPA, who nominated an individual to oversee the project completely, who had relatively no ideas regarding the change management processes. The entire change management procedure had no project planning and was initiated in an abrupt manner without ascertaining goals of the project (Cameron & Green, 2015).

Problem Statement

This reveals the significant weakness of the project as stated below;      

• Total Outsourcing of the Project: The project was owned by the Fire Prevention Authority (FPA), which in turn appointed a Project Director to undertake the responsibilities of the project. The Finance Director on approving budget for the project considered outsourcing entire project operations to a professional software house. Her suggestions were accepted by the entire department.    
• Inability to professionally handle the project: Some of the appointed personnel on the project had no prior experience of the job role that they had undertaken.
• Absence of project planning initiatives:Due to the limited time frame within which the project was estimated to be completed, the project planning initiatives was ignored (Pugh, 2016).  
• Absence of budgetary planning: The entire stages of project planning initiatives were absent for the said project hence so was budgetary planning.
• Ineffective timeline planning: This is a stage of project planning initiative where timeline needs to be planned accordingly. The entire project timeline was not planned and the go-live date was ascertained.
• Not planning for contingencies:The project in absence of project planning initiatives did not consider any opportunities for contingencies or adequate risk planning (Ika, 2009). 

The project had set off according to plans that were made but did not include appropriate project planning initiatives. Change management here needed to be applied at the project level through application of structured process along with set tools for leading the people on the project to change on to the desired outcome (Walasek, Kucharczyk & Morawska-Walasek, 2011).  The project requires professional management such that it can be implemented and completed in the scheduled timeframe. The project will be accomplished using project management strategies that encompass change management processes so that the final objectives can be achieved. In order for the project to attend its levels of change there are three Phases involved, in the first stage preparation for the change is undertaken, in the second stage Management of change is undertaken and in the last Phase Reinforcing of change is established as given below.

The project will be entirely owned by FPA hence it wills the major and only stakeholder for the complete project.

Problem Statement

The problem statement has been identified in the project weaknesses.

Project Objectives

• Objective 1:To identify houses that had been refurbished by Zoro Ltd
• Objective 2:To contact houses which had been refurbished by Zoro Ltd through letter or call center
• Objective 3:To analyse the fire and electrical lines threats present in the houses and correct them from local FPAs

The overall project management can be designed differently according to the ADKAR strategy which will allow establishing stages for attainment (Boca, 2013). The project management change process will be undertaken using ADKAR model. The stages for ADKAR model is described as given below

Awareness: The FPA Director for the project while applying change management initiatives has to first initiate awareness regarding the project change. Designing a separate project management initiative through a distinct change management plan, separate change management objectives needs to be ascertained, all the team members of the project needs to be intimated regarding the change management’s end goals and desired outcomes (Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). The Finance Director along with other persons assigned for the project team needs to received descriptive information related to the change that the organisation is planning towards. The following are the change management goals which will be outlined;

• Objective 1:To identify in-house team who can meet the project designing criteria  
• Objective 2:To ascertain project budget, cost and time schedule
• Objective 3:To analyse the training and supervisory plan for the project
• Objective 4:To ascertain contingency or risk management plan for the project   

Desire: Then the second stage where the desired procedure has to be outlined. While there are project objectives ascertained, there needs to be a specific budgetary allocation and timeline scale for determining the project is completed accordingly (Hamel, 2008). The desired outcome from the project that needs to be shared with the project team members encompasses ascertaining of fixed budgetary planning with timeline planning.

Project Objectives

Knowledge: The project team needs to possess the necessary knowledge such that they are able to accomplish project goals in an appropriate manner. The project management team needs to comprise of a finance person, a person with management capability, software knowledge along with other team members. The project head or director needs to analyse capability of the individuals prior to appointing them on particular projects (Sturgeon, 2008). A thorough evaluation of team member’s skills and capabilities will be evaluated and in case necessary training will be given.  

Ability: Post ascertaining of knowledge of the individual team members, their abilities to work on specific projects needs to be ascertained. Ascertaining of individual abilities for the project will ensure success for the project. The abilities of the team members will be ascertained using change management characteristics. As the FPA is conducting the project and they have capabilities in fire management, it is better not to outsource and keep the project within the house for attaining the desired levels of change management outcomes. IT consultants will be asked to submit their previous similar projects on which they have worked on. Call Centers will be asked regarding their previous experiences in contacting customers. Project Administrator will be asked to submit timeline and methodology on which they will work in this project. Moreover, the project will constantly review personnel abilities by way of evaluating achievements according to timeline. This will ensure that project team members possesses abilities to work on the particular project.

Reinforcement: The project’s change management processes needs to be reinforced such that the project goals can be easily attained (Larson, Gray, Danlin, Honig & Bacarini,  2014). In order to reinforce the project’s change management goals, frequent meetings with progress on the project goals will need to be accommodated. A communication plan through email or intranet will be ascertained such that all team members working on various parts of the project can get to know regarding the project’s progress. A supervisory coaching and training plan will need to be undertaken by one of the project stakeholders to fill in any gaps present amongst team members in knowledge or abilities. A project team activities needs to be allotted according to which each member will carry out their desired activities. A Master schedule will include training, communication and sponsor roadmap such that the project can attain its desired goals and objectives.

The project management planning for the desired project will need to be designed by using PDCA process for solving problem. A PDCA process was developed using Continuous Improvement process. PDCA cycle is an Action Plan which aims at taking standard plan of action and then checking actual results to take responsive counter measures to attain end results (Ning, Chen & Liu, 2010). The scope of the current project plan has been developed using information provided by IT Consultants.     

The project had been communicated verbally by the IT Consultants, as it will include developing a Call Centre to communicate for the projects and developing a software program to trace the houses that had been refurbished. The programs will trace the houses and then they will be contacted such that the repair and maintenance works can be undertaken in the said houses. Considering this as the project objective, and that the project has not gone live, a PDCA + A3 has been constructed so as to analyse the issues facing the project and devise recommendations in an appropriate manner.   

“P”		“D” “C” “A”          Date
Title/A3 The Cleveland Call Back Project		Owner:   Stakeholders:
Problem Statement: Identifying houses in Cleveland that has been renovated by Zoro Ltd and replacing their electrical and fire systems to prevent accidents. Developing IT solutions and Call Centers to identify such houses.		Recommendations: “D” Implement Project Plan as designed with timeline planning, costing and budgeting decisions. These include the tasks and activities that will be undertaken for the project.
Current Situation: Suitable office location has been hired for the call centre; two IT consultants, Call Centre Supervisor (Basil – £20 ph) and Project Administrator (Sandy – £12 ph) are based there		Implementation Plan: Requirements Analysis (J & T) will be done in 8 working days starting from May 1st 2013 Detailed Design (T), 5 days Interface studies (50% of J & 50% of T), 15 days (will run in parallel) Data Configuration (J & S), 30 days, as soon as detailed design is complete Prototyping (T & B), 20 days once detailed design and interface study is complete Call Centre Reviews (All 4) , 10 days, after prototyping Implementation (T), follows 8 days after the end of Prototyping and should take 15 days.   System Testing (All 4), 5 days after call center reviews and implementation is done  Call Centre Training (J & B & S), 5 days when system testing and data configuration are finished
Goal: Ability of the project to meet its designated timeline, handling its contingencies.		Follow-Up Actions: Evaluating project outcomes with Critical Success Factor and monitoring of the project. CSF will include attending to project costs and budget and complying with the timeline.
Root-cause Analysis: Causes of project delays is due to inappropriate planning. Requirements planning needs to reinstate ability planning amongst team members. Constraints of the project is the budgetary allocation and project timeline for Go-live date		Approval: Getting the project plan approved by project stakeholders. All departments of the project will need to be involved for getting approval.

A PDCA for a particular project needs to highlight tasks and activities undertaken along with critical Success factor (CSF) and Go Live date (Sokovic, Pavletic & Pipan, 2010). The various tasks and activities in the chart is shown in do phase where recommendations has been included. The PDCA chart has clearly stated the critical success factor which includes completing the project within the designated timeline which is the Go Live date of 30^th August. Another crucial CSF is to abide by the project budget; the project will aim at accomplishing its all goals within allocated funds of GBP 150, 000.  

The project planning has estimated to accommodate new change management processes to be able to attain its desired outcomes.

A strategy plan will be provided that would extrapolate effect from 16^th August and bring the project go-live date to 11^th October. The strategy plan with progress information would include updating the change management plan to identify the key deliverables in the project (Paton & McCalman, 2008). The following will the strategic plan;

Determining Position: The key strategic issues have already been identified in the PDCA+A3 plan. The key strategic issue is to identify the houses which have been refurbished. Employee and staff input will be obtained on this issue to understand the strength and weakness of the position (Turner, 2014). A SWOT analysis to understand the project’s position will be undertaken to overcome the key threats and challenges of the project.       

Developing Change Management Strategy: In order to develop Change management strategy, the organisation’s core purpose has to be determined which includes identifying houses through IT software in that area.   

Building the Plan: A plan will be developed using the project goals and making use of the SWOT. Critical success factor as has been discussed will be developed and accommodated for the project. Budget will be ascertained along with each team member’s individual performances.    

Managing Performance: Performance of the project will be frequently evaluated after the project rollout. Performance will be managed according to set calendar framework and leveraged tools will be updated frequently.        

Table 2: Updated PDCA+A3

“P”	“D” “C” “A”          Date
Title/A3 The Cleveland Call Back Project	Owner:   Stakeholders:
Problem Statement: Unable to meet project deadline and project budget.	Recommendations: “D” Implement Project Plan as designed with timeline planning, costing and budgeting decisions.
Current Situation: The project will be initiated from 16 August and new proposed date for the project will be 11th October. Requirements Analysis (done) Detailed Design (done) Interface studies (done) Data Configuration (40%) Prototyping (50%) Nothing else started	Implementation Plan: Data Configuration (J & S): Complete the rest data configuration of 60% Prototyping (T & B): Complete prototyping of rest 50% Call Centre Reviews (All 4) , immediately, after prototyping Implementation (T), follows on the days after the end of Prototyping and should take maximum of 15 days.   System Testing (All 4), immediately after call center reviews and implementation is done  Call Centre Training (J & B & S), immediately once the system testing and data configuration are finished
Goal: To conform to budgetary requirements and project timeline	Follow-Up Actions: Evaluating project outcomes with Critical Success Factor and monitoring of the project. CSF will include attending to project costs and budget and complying with the timeline.
Root-cause Analysis: Inability to meet project deadline and project budget led to the designing for a changed project.	Approval: Getting the project plan approved by project stakeholders. All departments of the project will need to be involved for getting approval.

An action plan will provide the project with direction such that the project can move forwards and its designated strategies can be implemented. In the current project planning processes an updated action plan would encompasses all the factors of Change Management and allow the project to be implemented in an appropriate manner (Frankland et al, 2008). An updated Action Plan will need to be implemented such that Change Management process can be established along with tactical options in order to bring forward the Go-Live Date.  The components of the Action Plan would include the following;

• Selecting a Goal:The goal and the objectives as identified in project planning initiation stage needs to be identified. There are various objectives for the set goal that the project needs to accomplish. As the project needs identify the suitable houses that have been refurbished. Depending upon a particular goal, the set of action will be determined and applied. The goal of the project will be divided into smaller goals, which are easily achievable, such as identifying suitable team members for the project, communicating regarding project details, designing project timeline and evaluation and monitoring.    
• Using Team:The designated team of IT consultants will provide the software and will identify suitable houses in the locality. The team member’s capability needs to be tested for their capabilities, providing training to match expectations for the project. At the initiation of the project, team member’s capability needs to be analysed, in case of any gaps prevalent such gaps needs to be filled to ensure the project is carried out in an appropriate manner. 
• Action Steps:The action steps include developing or identifying software and then applying the same to identify houses. Once the houses have been identified then a mode of communication has to be selected for them so that fire department can send across its personnel for fixing the problem.  
• Identifying Responsibility: Identification of the houses will be the role of the IT consultants, where the Call Centers will be responsible for making contact with them then they will directly hand over the list to the Project Administrator, who in turn will ask the Fire Department to take necessary steps of action for the houses.  
• Schedule Development:The IT consultants will be providing the maximum timeline, which will be broken in terms of software development and identifying the houses. Then the call center will be given minimum time to make contact with the houses. Then the fire department will take charge of the project.         
• Review and Update:Frequent review and update of the project will ensure that the project is completed within designated timeframe and at the designated costs. The review procedure will be conducted every two weeks to make sure that the project has progressed significantly.   
• Communicating with Key People:Frequent bi-weekly meetings will be held to ensure that communication with key people is undertaken. Communicating with the major internal stakeholders of the project will make certain that the project stays on its track. 

Prior to implementation and commencing on a project, it becomes necessary to identify a suitable project cost structure with budget (Hayes, 2018). An organisational structure capable to delivering the necessary outcome also needs to be identified.

The new changed project will progress with a new organisational structure. The aim of this organisational structure is to be able to incorporate a framework that is directly able to coordinate amongst the varied project variable. All key aspects of the changed project need to be handled by the project administrator with implementation of evaluation and monitoring framework (Burke, 2013). As in absence of such framework the project might again fail to accomplish its targeted outcomes. The Director of FPA will be heading the project and below him will be Project Director who will be responsible for the project and Fire Prevention Specialists. The Fire Prevention Specialists will ascertain the electrical and other fire prevention measures once the houses have been identified. The Project Director will in turn be heading the Project Administrator, who will be responsible for handling operations of the project and the Call Centre Supervisor. The Call Centre Supervisor will be responsible for contacting the households once they have been identified. The most integral role in this project is that of the Project Administrator, he will be handling the outsourced IT Consultants and IT Manager. It will be the role of the Project Administrator to frequently call meeting and overview the progress of the project and ascertain its timely completion. The entire organisational framework has been providing in the Figure below.

The new budget for the project will be assessed based on the resource requirement for the project (Meredith & Mantel Jr, 2011).  The new project’s allocated budget is GBP 107,100, hence all possible efforts needs to be made to conform to the designated budgetary framework. The varied resources needed for the project is workplace (which is included in miscellaneous), salaries to staffs, PC, required software, technologies and hardware, though there will be other requirements as well. A detailed budgetary allocation for the said project is provided as below.  

Cost Heads	Per Unit Costs	Budget (Approximate GBP)
Salaries to Staffs	GBP 55/ Man-hour 6 staffs (4 contractual)	30000
PC	4 pcs each costing GBP150	600
Software	GBP 7500	7500
Technologies (Internet, Wires, electric systems and so on)	GBP 8000	8000
Hardware	GBP 8000	8000
Miscellaneous	GBP 50000	50000
Total		107,100

Due to the tendency of the project to overshoot on its costs, the Project Administrator will be accommodating a cost control effort which will aim at controlling of costs at each stage of the project. The cost controlling effort will be applied as the project progresses and will determine that the project is completed within its respective timeframe.   

The above analysis of the project reveals that the desired change management had not been properly planned and adopted within the organization. The project can overcome the problems faced with the below mentioned recommendations for the project.

• Devise Critical Success Factor:The new change management project needs to devise CSF that allows the project to conform to its cost and timeline. Through extensive analysis of the various variables of the project, it becomes easier to devise the CSF.
• Continuous Evaluation & Monitoring:It is crucial for each and every project to undertake evaluation and monitoring activity. Through evaluation and monitoring it becomes easier to tally the outcomes with that of the achievable. Through monitoring any challenges faced in the project can easily be overcome and then an appropriate step and strategy can be devised to overcome the challenge.
• Determine project outcomes: The project outcomes need to be determined at each and every stage. As the project had initially failed at its very initiation, therefore it is integral that the project outcome is ascertained at each and every stage of the project so that the project does not fail again.  

Conclusion

Projects planning and implementation are critical procedures in any kind of project. A project is bound to face failure if project planning and implementation has not been properly adopted. While initiation of the project, resource plans and contingency planning has to take place. The project has not adopted all possible types of risk and contingency planning which might lead a project to its failure. As this is a technological project and has been outsourced there is bound to be challenges faced in the project, which the project manager needs to determine adequately. The feasibility report can be established only when the strengths and weaknesses of the project are adequately planned and a contingency plan is well established. In case of change management initiatives a clear and well-stated plan which includes various roles of employees need to be identified and then executed in an appropriate manner. Thus, a complex technical project can be completed only when it is able to meet its various demands relative to attending all possible areas of the project.

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